Take a minute to look down at your remote control (which you carry with you at all times). What’s missing? Nothing. However, Netflix disagrees.
The company is partnering with several manufacturers to put Netflix buttons right on your remote control. This takes the three-button-pressing process down to a one-button-pressing process, which is great, but it seems like a case of jumping the gun.
Granted, Netflix dominates the realm of video and streaming rentals right now, but it’s not the only player in the game and it has a lot of work to do to stay relevant. Instead of branding your clicker, they could be getting a better and more diverse library added to their streaming option – an option that lacks a lot of classic movies, higher-rated television shows, and the popular films of the past few years.
Clearly, they can do both at the same time, and the real move here is to make Netflix an even more enmeshed household name by forcing media fans (i.e. everyone) to see their logo whenever they turn the volume up while watching reruns of Golden Girls (not available on streaming).
Plus, it’s a move to compete directly with the ease of Video on Demand programs that are built into most cable provider remotes. The big difference between the two is the subscription pay base vs. the per-movie pay base, and it will be interesting to see how Netflix effects that business model by appearing just a slight thumb movement away.
Netflix has been trumpeting the horn of their intent to truly live up to their name since their inception, and as much as the service is a satisfying one, it feels like they still have a lot of work to do (and a lot of movies and television shows to get) to reach that initial goal – one that will mean subscribers can watch practically anything they want, whenever they want.
All at the click of a button.
What do you think? Would you buy a Netflix branded remote?
Source: TechCrunch
Related Topics: Netflix
